Saint John Bosco: Teacher and Protector of Youth

My sons, in my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this great truth. It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten a boy than to persuade him. […] We must be firm but kind, and be patient with them. […] Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better.
—St. John Bosco¹ 

Raising children is difficult. Knowing when to affirm them, when to challenge them and what to do about positive and negative consequences is challenging at best. Saint John Bosco (1815-1888), popularly known as Don Bosco, devoted his life to these very challenges. His feast day is January 31.

Don Bosco helped better the lives of poor children and disadvantaged youth by bringing the Love of Christ to each child he encountered; he founded a religious order called the Salesians to carry out his mission. Developing teaching methods based on Christ's Love rather than punishment, he modeled the very life of Jesus in all that he did to bring about respect for self, others and God. 

Don Bosco believed that the teacher should be father, adviser, and friend. Of punishment he said: "As far as possible avoid punishing; when absolutely necessary, try to gain love before inspiring fear…"² 

He is a model for all parents and those who work with children, and taught us that embracing Love in its most purest form is the best foundation for any interaction with a child.  

_References:

_{^1. St. John Bosco: Quote from a letter from Saint John Bosco. Retrieved from the Internet: November 3, 2016.  http://catholicsaints.info/saint-john-bosco/ 
^2. Life of Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Society. (1898). Translated from the French of J.M. Villefranche, by Lady Martin. Third Edition. London: Burns and Oates. (New York: Benzinger Bros.). Retrieved from the Internet: November 3, 2016: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=uPjNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA549} 

_{To provide constructive feedback to the editor on this article, please email editor@virtus.org.}

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